Workplace reviews and discussion: 預約科技行銷股份有限公司

After the interview, you gain a deeper understanding of what a nano (small-to-medium?) declining company and its exploitative boss look like. It also gives you a profound appreciation of the disaster you invite when you fail to do thorough pre-interview research and end up at a company with extremely low capital: you should be prepared to become a free punching bag for the venting and emotional catharsis of low-level salespeople with terrible character.

Don’t even mention an optimistic attitude or ease of communication when interviewing with this mysterious, novel, yet rigid and demanding company—the interviewer’s reasoning was even more sinister than Sinister Shopping. The so-called communication was one-sided from beginning to end: he just talked for his own enjoyment, bragging and running his mouth. To satisfy his terrifying, black-hole-like inferiority complex, he arrogantly expressed contempt for and rejection of the plastic-surgery counter staff who had refused his business development, saying that all service-industry counter workers were poorly educated, lacking in character, lazy, inferior people who were incapable of using or learning the system he had developed.

When it came to the base salary, he only dared lower his head and quietly say 20,000, then boldly claimed that the base salary paid at the end of last year was 30,000. Yes, you read that correctly: the current base salary is an even crazier and more uninhibited 20,000—lower than 22K. When I asked questions about the job duties, he could only answer that this couldn’t be done, that couldn’t be done, that it was too difficult, or that it was impossible—in other words, zero business fundamentals and social experience, at the level of an engineering-obsessed shut-in. Then he frantically used direct-sales-style brainwashing to tell me that it was 50% with no base salary and 30% with a base salary. Not only did he want free labor, he also wanted to impose a future “floating” KPI tailored to the individual (in preparation for deducting performance pay). Whenever I mentioned a base-salary plan, he would immediately change his expression and become impatient, darkly repeating his boastful line that every newcomer goes three months without results. His EQ was so low that even a middle-school student would be amazed. I should also mention that, in his eyes, sales was an even more contemptible job than engineering: both had zero base salary, but salespeople would not receive any allocated shares—shares that might be worth about as much as wallpaper.

When I asked whether there were senior colleagues in the sales department to provide guidance, he started making things up, saying that some had gone to develop international markets for the company: one salesperson in Taichung, one in Kaohsiung, one in Australia, and two in Taipei, with one of them developing the Japanese market. So I asked, “Then what about the other person in the Taipei sales department?” He silently and solemnly pointed to himself. At the time, I was extremely shocked and realized that something was seriously wrong, but I thought, “It’s a startup—perhaps everything can be excused.” Yet he arrogantly claimed that the company had stable revenue-generating projects, so it currently did not lack salespeople; sales staff were optional, with an expression that said, “You beg me. Come on, beg me to give you a job.”

(Afterward, I checked with the Department of Commerce: the approved establishment date was July 14, 2011. Eight years! The capital had been there for eight years too.)

When he repeated his boastful rant for the third round with a dark expression, I could no longer stand his nagging, sarcastic chatter. I compromised and said I would consider working without pay to build up performance. Yet his massive inferiority-complex breakdown still would not let me go. Like a rural auntie, he continued to prattle on about how arduous and difficult it was: “You know how hard it is, right? I often get rejected. Are you sure you want to do this? Can you really do it? Are you up to it?” One question from me—“If business development were easy, why would you need me to do it? (smile)”—instantly made this lone operator wilt, lose focus, and collapse.

Then this commander-in-chief without an army suddenly became as weak as a deflated balloon. It was obvious that he had no appointment and had improvised one, then self-destructed and prepared to flee in shame. I had absolutely no intention of mocking him; at the time, I had not realized that his EQ was so extremely low that he could shatter from the slightest trigger. I even asked, “So, did I pass the interview? If so, when should I start learning the system and business development?” He replied, “We’ll let you know. Are you sure you want to do it?” I answered, “Yes, I’m absolutely confident that I can handle this sales position.” He then said, “Okay, come to the company in a few days to report.” (※I still hadn’t realized that his fragile ego was exploding.) At the bottom of the café stairs, he suddenly turned around and looked at me with grief, resentment, and anger. As he walked away, he used a deeply wounded yet hostile gaze and repeatedly emphasized, in an A-Q-style attempt to patch up his shattered ego, “Our company has a strong niche! Our company is extremely forward-looking!”

After he left, every customer at the neighboring tables was discussing how hilarious his low-EQ meltdown had been. I felt extremely embarrassed and ashamed. How had I ended up interviewing with such an insecure, cowardly, vulgar company? After that, I continued interviewing with reputable companies, systematically scheduling appointments and thoroughly checking Department of Commerce records, Google information, PTT, external templates, and numerous web sources.

About a week after the interview, I had more or less decided where I wanted to go. I messaged him asking him to please confirm whether the position was still available. (Read.) Three days later, he replied and began another round of auntie-style nagging. I answered that I could do it and had relevant experience.

However, another week passed. I had already confirmed offers from several companies through different recruiting websites, while I was preparing to decide among several others after completing their interviews. So, foolishly, I messaged him again to ask whether they had decided not to hire me. (Read, then two days later.) He replied, “Yes, sorry.”

Are you kidding me? I immediately gave him a profanity-free account of my impression of the interview and blocked him. I wasn’t there to provide him with free verbal punching-bag therapy.

Afterward, he frantically harassed me late at night through the recruitment website’s mailbox, even threatening to find a lawyer and sue me.

You want to go to court and bang your head against the north wall? I’d like to see whether your head is hard enough. Within the law or outside it, I can teach you how to shut down.